Tuesday, March 31, 2009

RIVER PALMS, LAUGHLIN




WE HAD A GREAT DAY "OFF", UP RIVER, AT LAUGHLIN. WE SCORED A ROOM AT RIVER PALMS FOR $21.87. WE TAKE OFF FROM CAMP AROUND NOON ON SUNDAY AND RETURN ABOUT THE SAME TIME ON MONDAY AFTERNOON.



AND WE GOT TICKETS TO THE COMEDY SHOP WITH A 2 FOR 1 COUPON. TWO TICKETS FOR $15, AND THAT INCLUDED THE TAX, BUT NOT THE BEER BILL.



LIKE MOST COMEDY SHOWS, THERE IS ONE PRETTY GOOD COMEDIAN, AND ONE THAT NOTS SO GOOD. MADE OUR HALF PRICE TICKETS RIGHT ON TARGET.

THERE ARE RUMORS THAT THIS HOTEL IS SINKING OR LEANING AND IN DANGER OF FALLING DOWN? WHAT DO YOU THINK?





BESIDES THE CHEAP ROOM AND HALF PRICE SHOW TICKETS, I GOT A FREE T-SHIRT TO BOOT........



AS USUAL WE ENJOYED OUR DAY "OFF".

"SUNNY & 80"

Monday, March 30, 2009

SPRING BREAK

SPRING BREAK (CLICK)

THE PUNCH LINE
Today was the first day of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's two-day trip to Mexico. She spent the day with Felipe Calderon discussing the drug violence that has been spilling over into the U.S. Then she flew to Cancun to look for Bill." -- Jimmy KImmel

Sunday, March 29, 2009

DAILY REPORT



AND HERE COMES OUR "DAYS OFF". WORK HAS BEEN GOING OK, NOT THE $90/DAY IN TOKES THAT WE HAD LAST YEAR, BUT HOLDING AT $80/DAY. I'VE BEEN GETTING FIVE DAYS A WEEK, AND MARY SEEMS TO CATCH ONLY FOUR DAYS A WEEK EVERY THIRD WEEK OR SO, OTHERWISE MARY'S BEEN WORKING FIVE DAYS A WEEK TOO.

THE SNOWBIRD RV CROWD IS DISAPPEARING FROM OUR VALLEY. EACH DAY A FEW MORE CAMPERS HEAD NORTH TOWARD HOME AND COOLER TEMPERATURES. THE SAME IS TRUE ON THE MANY RV BLOGS I READ.

WE'VE BEEN BUSY WITH OUR BOONDOCKING EXPERIMENTS AND DISCUSSING PLAN "B" IF WE DECIDE TO SKIP LAKE TAHOE THIS YEAR AND STAY ON THE LOWER DESERT. EVERY WEEK AT WORK, MANAGEMENT AND OUR CO-WORKERS ASK IF WE'RE LEAVING FOR THE SUMMER THIS YEAR?

LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER OVERNIGHTER TO LAUGHLIN FOR A FEW BEERS AND SOME ENTERTAINMENT. DRUNK DRIVING CHARGES IN ARIZONA AND CALIFORNIA ARE NOT SOMETHING TO TOY WITH. SEEMS THEY HAUL YOUR ASS TO JAIL FOR 45 DAYS FIRST AND THEN SORT OUT THE DETAILS. THE ONLY RISKS WE TAKE THESE DAYS ARE A FEW DRINKS WITH LUNCH IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY, OTHERWISE WE HAVE A HOTEL ROOM LINED UP AND THE CAR PARKED BEFORE WE EVEN START. SURE MISS THE OLE DAYS OF BAR HOPPING AND ROAD TRIPS....................

"SUNNY & 80"

Friday, March 27, 2009

Medical Museum




The next museum is a little smaller. It is a collection of old medical and surgical artifacts that I have collected over the years. Most of it fits in this display coffee table in the living room. It has been the source of many an interesting conversation. The articles often get taken out and passed around, making it a "hands on" museum experience.............




....this contraption is called a tonsil guillotine. You simply insert this gizmo into the patients mouth and grab the tonsil through the square hole, pulling it into the hole. Then you fire it, and a blade chops off the tonsil like a guillotine chops of a head. Fascinating. It is often done under local anesthesia (although not if I am the patient)..........





....This is a Shiotz Tenometer. It is used to measure the pressure in the eyeball. Nowadays, they use a machine that uses a puff of air and measures the deflection of the eye to calculate the pressure. Thistenometer is like a tiny scale. The eye is presses into it, deflecting a spring and giving a measurement of the pressure in the eye..............



....an old ground glass syringe. All syringes are now plastic and rubber and disposable..........




....the plastic is fine, but has none of the romance of this old beauty with the 6 inch needle. Lovely??..........



....this is a Peyer clamp, used for holding the stomach as it is sewn. These old instruments were so beautiful in their craftsmanship and almost artistic design. The clamp is open............



....this is closed................





 ....this is a mask for an inhaled anesthetic, usually ether.  The mask holds a rough cloth, like cheesecloth, and ether is dripped on to it while it is place over your mouth and nose.  Enough oxygen is delivered as you are still breathing air, but mixed with the vaporized ether at the same time. Ether was extremely simple, easy to make, very cheap, and very, very good as an anesthetic.  It creates muscle relaxation, loss of consciousness, sustains breathing, supports cardiac function, wipes out your memory, deadens pain, all the characteristics of a perfect agent.  The only drawback?  It explodes with the tiniest spark and can kill everyone in the room, but always the patient.  Still, it was so perfect otherwise that it lasted 60-70 years into the 70's in some places.  Just an occasional........BOOM!!...........



Uncle Hans

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DELILAH

HAPPY 15TH BIRTHDAY DELILAH !!!
ENJOY YOUR DAY !!!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Commute to Work



Last summer Rex did a blog about our commute through the mountains to work at Lake Tahoe, so I decided to do one about our commute here in the desert.



This is right after turning out of the driveway from the RV park.



We had a lot of spring rains and this shows an uncharacteristically green desert. It will not take long for this vegetation of burn off once the temps get up there.



We still have lots of sand blowing around from these dunes.....the blue tarp on the fence gets mostly shredded in the 20 plus mph winds we routinely have. Sometimes it blows like drifting snow across the road!!


On the left is a housing development called Mesquite Creek.

This golf club is new this year, we saw the construction taking place last year but it is now open for business and is fast becoming one of the area's favorites.



A nice sign advertising our favorite casino!! The AVI Resort and Casino which supports our lifestyle in the winter. I am sorry to say that my photographer (Rex) didn't take a picture of our destination-The AVI. Don't really know why but this is all of the pictures I have of the drive....oh well that's just the way it goes sometimes!!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

INDIAN PROVERB

"Treat The Earth Well.
It Was Not Given To You By Your Parents;
It Was Loaned To You By Your Children."


Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Auto Spa

A TYPICAL DAY OFF AND OUR MONTHLY TRIP TO NEEDLES, CALIFORNIA FOR OUR MONTH'S WORTH OF LOTTO TICKETS. ABOUT THE ONLY THING WE HAVEN'T BLOGGED ABOUT ON THIS ERRAND IS THE CAR WASH, SO.................







DO YOU THINK WE'RE IN RUT?

SO I SAYS TO MARY, "MAYBE WE SHOULD SPEND MORE TIME TOGETHER". MARY REPLIES, "WHAT?, ARE YOU GOING WITH ME TO THE GYM AND WALMART?"

SUNNY & 80


THE PUNCH LINE
"The economy is bad. In Beverly Hills, on prom night, some kids might even have to share a limo." -- Jay Leno

Monday, March 23, 2009

Q-TIPS




HEY REX, WHAT WAS THE "Q-TIP" TERM USED IN YESTERDAYS BLOG?

A "Q-TIP", ACCORDING TO PAULIE, IS A PHRASE USED TO DESCRIBE OLDER TOURISTS IN LAS VEGAS, WHO HAVE GRAY HAIR AND A NEW PAIR OF WHITE TENNIS SHOES FOR SIGHT SEEING ON THE STRIP. "Q-TIP", GET IT?


MARY AND I HAVEN'T BOUGHT WHITE SHOES EVER SINCE.

NOW TO LEARN WHAT A "FIB" IS YOU'LL HAVE TO LEAN ON UNCLE HANS OR UNCLE NEIL. I'LL GIVE YOU A HINT, AND TELL YOU IT'S WISCONSIN TERMINOLOGY.



THE PUNCH LINE
"Terror struck Orange County as someone toilet papered the new home of "Octomom" Nadya Suleman. I will say this, it's nice to see that Americans can finally afford to waste toilet paper again; maybe the economy is turning around." -- Jimmy Kimmel

Sunday, March 22, 2009

SMOTHERS BROTHERS




A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO WE TOOK THE DAY OFF AND HEADED UP TO LAUGHLIN TO DRINK 20 OR 30 BEERS. THIS IS A FUN AND SAFE TRIP AS YOU CAN GET ON THE INTERNET A COUPLE OF DAYS BEFORE AND RESERVE A ROOM AT ONE OF THE MANY HOTELS AND JUST ENJOY YOURSELF. THIS TRIP WE STAYED AT THE TROPICANA EXPRESS FOR $21.

WE SPENT THE AFTERNOON HIKING THE RIVER WALK, CHECK OUT THE GOLD FISH IN THE MOAT SURRONDING THE COLORADO BELLE CASINO,




AND THEN WE GOT INTO THE BEER DRINKING. WE FOUND THIS DANCE BAR UPSTAIRS AT THE RIVERSIDE CASINO.




DON LAUGHLIN EVEN HAS HIS OWN PRIVATE LABLED BEER, MADE IN MINNESOTA (WHERE ELSE?), AND IT SELLS FOR $2 A CAN. $2 BEERS AND $21 FOR A ROOM, WHAT A GREAT WAY TO SPEND A SUNNY SUNDAY.

WE SCORED GREAT TICKETS FOR THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS SHOW. WE WERE CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE FRONT TO GET THESES PICTURES.




AND HERE IS TOMMY GIVING DICK THAT CLASSICAL LOOK............






THE STAGE IS ALL DARK EXCEPT FOR THE SPOT LIGHT ON THE BASE AND THE GUITAR, THE ANNOUNCER INTRODUCES THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS AND OUT ON STAGE COMES THESE TWO 70+ YEAR OLD BROTHERS THAT EVEN WITH THE GRAY HAIR LOOK LIKE THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS FROM THE 1960'S.

IT WAS LIKE WHEN I WAS 18 AGAIN WATCHING SUNDAY NIGHT TV AND EATING POPCORN..........

THEY WERE AMAZING, TOMMY WAS AS STUPID AS EVER AND DICK PLAYS THE STRAIGHT MAN AS PROFFESIONALLY AS EVER. TOMMY CAN STILL DO ALL THE CRAZY YO-YO TRICKS AS SMOOTHLY AS 40 YEARS AGO. IT WAS A GREAT SHOW, PLAYED TO ROOM FULL OF "Q-TIPS".

THE PUNCH LINE
"Here's an important lesson I learned last night: Do not use Scope to make green beer." -- Jimmy Kimmel

Saturday, March 21, 2009

HOY !!! HOY !!! HOY !!!

HOY !!! HOY !!! HOY !!!

AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE HANS !!!

Friday, March 20, 2009

Cheese Museum Part 3



....(continued from last week).......The chain hoist sets the bag of curd formed by holding the corners of the cheesecloth into a wooden mold called a hoop. A large stone, the largest the cheesemaker could lift by himself, is placed on the hoop cover and the whey is pressed out of the curd, forming a young cheese. This process, you are figuring out, is designed to do all by yourself. A one man operation...........





....This is a hoop. A cheesecloth is draped over it for the display. A wreath is hanging in the middle, to make it look nice in our entryway. The shiny object to the right is a cheese knife, usually seen in the old-fashioned store where you pointed to the cheese you wanted and the knife was used to cut off an appropriate sized hunk for you to buy. The rake-looking device also seen is for raking curds on a drain table. This has nothing to do with Swiss Cheese, rather some lesser cheese like cheddar, or colby, or parmesan, actually most other more ordinary cheeses (kidding).......




....the cheeses, or "wheels" are placed in a hot room and turned and cleaned from time to time as they "cured". The bacteria in Swiss cheese give off a gas as they grow and the gas forms a bubble. The bubbles become, you guessed it, the holes...............



....Mom's description has a "typo". "curd" in the third line is actually "cured"..............




....The cheese is checked for acidity, tasted, and inspected for the proper holes. At the right time, known only to the experienced cheesemaker, the bacterial action is ended by simply moving the cheese to a cold room. Here it ages for weeks to months. Aged Swiss is not popular today as it once was. My Grandfather used to say, "never bite Swiss cheese that does not bite you back" I can remember the sharp taste, but prefer the milder, almost nutty taste of a good Swiss. A family tradition at all our gatherings is a variant called "Baby Swiss". I leave this opening for Rex to blog sometime soon on that heavenly experience............



....the last picture takes us back to the beginning or this blog series, to my Grandfather. The saw belonged to him and he used it to cut wood for the boiler of the factory he ran. My Dad's factory, as we can plainly see, was way modern and had a fuel oil fired boiler, making this old saw a relic, well, for a museum. Thanks for touring the Swiss Cheese Museum.



Next is the Medical Museum, but not for small children or the faint of heart. Stay tuned.

Uncle Hans



Thursday, March 19, 2009

I Got You Babe



A few weeks ago Rex and I were watching a biography about Cher on TV. Boy those songs are so great and they had me dancing around the camper. Well it whetted my whistle!! Cher is in Vegas and......


WE ARE GOING TO SEE HER CONCERT AT CAESAR'S PALACE COLOSSEUM ON MAY 3RD. I GOT YOU BABE!!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

AHH...... VEGAS !!!



AS LONG AS WE WERE IN LAS VEGAS DROPPING GRANDMA AND AUNT KATHY OFF AT THE AIRPORT WE DECIDED TO STAY AND PLAY. WE MADE THE AIRPORT DROP AT 6:00 AM AND DECIDED TO WATCH THE SUN RISE OVER THE VEGAS STRIP.

THE FIRST THING WE DID WAS TO CATCH THE VEGAS MONORAIL TO VIEW THE SUNRISE.




HERE ARE THE WYNN CASINO AND THE ENCORE CASINO, WITH THE FIRST MORNING LIGHT.





BOTH BUILDINGS ARE BEAUTIFUL AND IMPRESSIVE.
OUR NEXT STOP WAS CAESAR'S PALACE AND THE FORUM SHOPS. I THOUGHT HIKING THE FORUM SHOPS MIGHT GO BETTER EARLY IN THE MORNING BEFORE THE STORES OPEN.


I THOUGHT IT WAS A PRETTY GOOD PLAN, BUT MAYBE MARY ISN'T THE HAPPY SHOPPER IN THIS PICTURE.

ACTUALLY THE MORNING SUN FELT GREAT ON IT'S WAY TO "SUNNY & 80", AND MARY ONLY HAD ONE ITEM ON HER SHOPPING LIST TODAY. YOU'LL READ ABOUT IT IN ONE OF HER UPCOMING BLOGS.

NEXT WE HIKED THROUGH THE GARDENS AT THE BELLAGIO. THIS WAS OUR FIRST TIME TO VIEW THE SPRING FLOWERS.

THE BUBBLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THESE TULIPS WAS A FOUNTAIN WITH RUNNING WATER COVERING THE SPHERE.

WE SPENT THE MORNING HIKING THE STRIP AND THEN DROVE DOWNTOWN TO MEET UP WITH PAULIE FOR LUNCH AND CHECK OUT FREEMONT STREET.

HERE'S A COUPLE OF SHOTS OF THE NEW POOL AT THE GOLDEN NUGGET.

THAT ROUND BUILDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE POOL IS ACTUALLY AN AQUARIUM AND YOU CAN SEE THE BIG FISH SWIMMING BY THE GLASS. THEN THERE IS A WATER SLIDE THAT GOES RIGHT THROUGH THE AQUARIUM.

YUP, THAT MARY PLAYING BLACKJACK POOLSIDE.

AHH.......... VEGAS !!!